New Technologies

Are you ready to start paying for stuff you don't need with the wave of a hand? Amazon debuted "Amazon One" this morning, new technology that connects the palm of your hand with your credit card, allowing you to pay for items as you exit a store with the simple wave of your hand.

The feature is available in two Amazon Go stores in Seattle today, and Amazon plans to expand across Seattle, San Francisco, New York, and Chicao. Amazon One allows for touch-free store entry and payment, which is particularly useful during our no-contact pandemic restrictions, although Amazon says it began working on the convenience of a hand wave long before the pandemic hit. 

To use the new technology, you enter a credit card in an Amazon One device and hold your palm out for a thorough scan, which includes multiple camera images attempting to record subcutaneous details that aren't necessarily visible to the eye. These images are encrypted and stored online, and entry scanners at participating Amazon Go stores will be able to access the information when you wave your palm both for entry into the store and when you gather items to purchase. Amazon plans to sell the technology to other retailers one day, possibly extending the convenience to malls, offices, and even stadiums.

While some of us may cringe at the thought of more stored biometric data, it's hard to deny the temptation of sheer convenience: no more awkwardly digging through a wallet or purse, or waiting in tedious lines. Can you imagine the ease of gathering the items you need and then simply waving your hand at a scanner as you exit?

But have you also paused to wonder why our western American culture is so focused on convenience? As we press for the next best way to speed past the essentials of life -- irritants like cooking, bathing, washing clothes, commuting, shopping -- what do we do with the time saved? If we add space for prayer, creativity, study, and rest, fabulous. But if we are simply opening space for more items to fill our calendars, what are we accomplishing?

I'm a big fan and consumer of new technologies, but I want us to also be mindful of our culture of convenience, a mindset that runs counter to the example Jesus lived. Consider Paul's words to the believers in Philippi in Philippians 3:10:

I want to know Christ -- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Jesus lived a life of inconvenience rather than convenience, walking hundreds of miles with his friends, lingering over a meal or a conversation, looking for a place to rest each night. He did not seek the luxuries and conveniences that our culture presses on us, and in his reliance on God in each new day, each new hour, he had peace. Technology is wonderful and efficiencies can be deeply satisfying, but only when they grant us time to linger. How will you strive to know Christ better this week? Where will you find your moments to pause and ponder?

Peace on your week,

Jennie